Dana White's Contender Series has been leading the way in providing young and emerging MMA talent a way to the top of the sport in recent years, and it has now been revealed that the series will be coming to Asia in 2020.
The move coincides with the opening of the state-of-the-art UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai, as the UFC looks to make a splash in the lucrative Asian market.
Dana White made the following statement regarding his plans to take his search for the next big thing to Asia...
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“One of my favorite parts of my job is looking for up-and-coming talent. There’s no area in the world right now with more potential MMA talent than Asia. We’re going to use Dana White’s Contender Series to find these fighters, develop them, and give them the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in combat sports.” MMA Mania
Traditionally, ONE FC and Rizin have dominated the Asian MMA landscape, so it remains to be seen how the UFC's continued emergence will affect the Asian MMA scene.
As things stand, there is no official date set for the series to air, however, preparations appear to be very much underway as the UFC begin their search for the next big thing in Asian mixed martial arts.